In this episode, Nitin and I delve into the CTA Application and Professional Skills (APS) paper, and share our advice on how pass the exam.
The underlying tax knowledge is no different to the Advanced Technical papers. But don’t be tempted to think that this exam is therefore straightforward! The mindset and approach needed to pass this exam is completely different.
The APS exam is not about demonstrating your technical knowledge!
It is about providing advice that is client-friendly, the type of advice a client will pay for. This is what the examiner wants. This is what they are examining.
So, you need to be ready and prepared to make sure you pass this exam, which also has its own unique pass criteria (it’s not a mark out of 100).
Nitin and I leave you with an important takeaway: the APS papers are more than just an exam to become qualified. It’s an opportunity to help you become a better tax advisor. Don’t waste that opportunity.
Click listen to hear the advice and know how to properly prepare to pass this exam.
Guest – Nitin Rabheru
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/charlie-friend-att-cta-37694683/
Website: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nitin-rabheru-31299b11/
Email: cta@bpp.com
You’ll Learn
- Key reasons why students fail the APS exam
- (18:00) How you should deal with gaining the CTA awareness knowledge you need (particularly for those of you on the ATT/CTA joint pathway)
- (21:00) Advice if you’re thinking to sit an APS paper and AT paper at the same time
- (26:55) How the marking works (the criteria to pass) and how to demonstrate the desired skill level in each area in the APS paper
- (32:00) How to prepare to pass the APS paper (including the application of knowledge and revision)
- (43:15) What the pre-seen is and how you should use this
- (49:30) The importance of planning and how to plan
- (54:30) Final advice from Nitin for passing this exam
Resources
Tax flashcards/squares – email Jack (jack@thetaxprofessionalspodcast.com) or Nitin (cta@bpp.com) for samples.
FREE – CTA Study Phase Checklist so you can make sure you ‘complete’ the study phase before revision, going into revision as prepared as you can
FREE – ATT/CTA revision folder guide, which was made when the exams became open book. This is somewhat outdated now, but there is still useful information in there
FREE – 8 CTA/ATT revision tips summary, which does exactly what it says on the tin
Other exam-support related podcast episodes: https://www.thetaxprofessionalspodcast.com/category/podcast/att-cta/
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